Ranking the Presidents, Part Five

John Quincy Adams comes in at number 16. Sadly, though he was the most brilliant man to ever occupy the Oval Office, his administration wasn't particularly successful. I find it hard to rank him this high, yet through no fault of his own. Accused of a deal with Henry Clay in order to secure the presidency, an angry Andrew Jackson made it his life's work to unseat Adams, and a Congress essentially on Jackson's side made Adams' administration ineffectual. I like the man, but I do not understand this selection.

William McKinley comes next at 17. A robust economy, an easy victory in a war with Spain, and the coming of the twentieth century all made the sun shine bright on the Ohioan. Until his assassination, that is. What more can you say?

Number 18 is Ulysses Simpson Grant. I absolutely cannot fathom this choice; it must be another one based on overall reputation than any merit his administration deserved. Sure, he did a lot to save the Union as the only truly active Northern general in the conflict between the states. But his Presidency? 18 cabinet members and close advisers forced to resign due to scandal? The whole Credit Mobilier fiasco? Sure, he was innocent of any personal wrongdoing, but he still selected these folks. I would have expected him to be at least in the bottom half of the list, if not in thirties.

Grover Cleveland, the only two term, split term President (his terms being interrupted by Benjamin Harrison) comes next. He was the only Democratic President between the Civil War and Wooodrow Wilson in 1913, so I suppose that grants him some merit. The Pullman strike, the gold standard, and his overall honesty and integrity served him well. The panic of 1893 didn't. He actually won the popular vote each time he ran: 1884, 1888, and 1892. He probably deserves to be here, but he's a President who doesn't seem to inspire much, is he?

The top twenty ends with what to me is a surprise: George H. W. Bush. Giving the general liberal bent of, well, the people who make these lists, to have the elder Bush in the top half of the list is intriguing. I like him, though he was a squishy Republican. That hurt him in terms of getting reelected: when the Democrats needled him for a 'bi-partisan' tax increase despite his 'No new taxes' campaign pledge and he relented an accepted them, they immediately made it a campaign talking point in 1992. You can't trust liberals, George. They call for working together when it suits them, and backstab when it helps their aims. True, the Perot candidacy probably hurt him more than Clinton in the election, but was not Perot also running for the 'integrity' needed in government in light of a President' untrustworthiness on promises? But as he was able to rally the world in the Persian Gulf War, let's let the man keep his ranking.